A last-minute Thanksgiving shopping sprint never ends well. Without fail, even if you just need one stick of butter, you’re going to have to wait behind shoppers that have their entire Thanksgiving shopping list in their cart. These are the items we always forget to snag. Add them to your list, and you won't have to make that dreaded return trip.

Ice

Easy to forget, indispensable for pre-meal cocktails. It's tough to shop for a huge bag in advance, so set a reminder to shop for a bag the day before the feast, and stash it in a cooler outside if your freezer doesn't have room.

Paper towels

Lifting the turkey. Drying out washed herbs. Cleaning up after a spill. What do all of these have in common? Paper towels. They are an essential kitchen tool, but they go way too fast. Buy more than you think you need so you won't get caught short.

Beverages

“And now, let’s have a toast.” With what? After the grocery store, the second-worst place to be the day before Thanksgiving is a liquor shop or wine store. It's worse than the crowd on Black Friday.

Leftover containers

The next-day sandwich might be just as good (if not better IMHO) than the turkey dinner, no one should hoard the leftovers by default. Get plenty of containers to give away the dinner’s greatest hits. They don’t have to be fancy; in fact, they should be those supermarket-style plastic containers you don’t mind giving away.

Aluminum foil

Like paper towels, this tool is indispensable and in shiny high demand during the holiday—for tenting turkey or wrapping up leftover rolls. Be sure to have plenty on hand.

butter

Even though the table is buckling with variety, Thanksgiving has a pretty common denominator: butter. It gives rolls that creaminess, it pools in mashed potatoes, it’s responsible for the flakiness in pie crust, and you definitely need plenty of it on hand.

heavy cream

Another kind of dairy you won't want to forget. Because there's nothing like a drift of freshly whipped (or made-in-advance) heavy cream atop a slice of slightly warm pie.

coffee

You may have some already for your morning routine, but this is just a friendly reminder that pie is not pie without coffee. Yet it’s pretty easy to forget. As you’re clearing the table, start the coffee brewing. You’ll thank us the next morning when you’re up early for shopping specials.